Northwest Schools.

Budding Readers Get Early Boost

Literacy Project In 5 Schools Starts To Show Results

April 05, 2000|By Rob Smith. Special to the Tribune.

ELGIN — As a reading coordinator at Illinois Park Elementary School, Lil Klein has noticed many kindergartners coming to school unfamiliar with such concepts as what the front and back of a book are, the difference between the top and bottom of a page, and letters versus words.

Starting school without knowing such things can greatly hinder a child's progress later, especially when it comes to learning how to read.

Klein and others in Elgin School District 46 are hoping to narrow the gap between high- and low-achieving students by putting more emphasis on literacy early in a child's education.

Under a program called the Balanced Early Literacy Project, five elementary schools in the district have been fostering a "whole school" approach to the problem, addressing not only pupils, but also the development of teachers and even parents.

The program began in the 1998-99 school year for kindergarten and 1st-grade classes at Garfield, Highland, Huff, Illinois Park and Sheridan Elementary Schools. It follows the pupils for three years, ending in the 2000-01 school year.

Now that the program has been in place for a year, the district is encouraged by the results. Kindergarten pupils have acquired more reading-readiness skills and are even reading some simple texts, officials said. And 1st graders have been exceeding the reading goals that were initially set.

"At the end of last year, the teachers were so excited with the results they were getting," Klein said. "They could really see that this works."

The program also has encouraged pupils to work harder and do better in school. Tina Radomsky, principal at Sheridan, told the school board recently that her teachers are reporting fewer discipline problems and that pupils are more motivated to read.

One of the core beliefs of the literacy project is that all pupils have the capacity to make progress, given sufficient time and support.

Pupils spend two hours each day in an uninterrupted literacy block, with an hour devoted to both reading and writing. During this time, emphasis is placed on making sure pupils understand what they read.

"You can have children who can be good readers, but are they comprehending?" said Klein, the Balanced Early Literacy coordinator at Illinois Park.

When Klein sees kindergartners without even a basic knowledge of how a book works, she knows much of the problem must be addressed at home. So the project tries to get the children's parents involved.

"If they haven't been read to at home, they really haven't gotten that. You can almost tell the children who come in who haven't been read to."

Book bags with reading assignments go home with the pupils nightly, and parents are asked to help their children and verify that the work has been done. Also, summer book bags, with 20 to 25 books, are sent home to continue reading development over vacation.

Another key to the program is professional development of the teachers, who share best practices, receive instruction from project consultants and work with coordinators like Klein.

Mary Hausner, reading language arts coordinator for District 46, recently told the district's board of education that principals at all of the participating schools "have said that it has moved their teachers into a different level of teaching."